Waiting
by Wii Master
Summary: Dodging the crowded streets of the town below, a young Florina hopes that the Festival's legend comes true on this snowy, magical night.  Canon, yet suited for the holidays.


Staying up one wondrous winter night, I realized that there's nothing quite so magical as falling snow during the winter season, and I got to thinking, would any Fire Emblem characters share my sentiments? The background for this story is found in the Ninian x Florina A support, and, if it's the right time of year, falling outside your window right now. Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: I claim ownership of nothing, not even sanity. (Or Santa-ty, for the winter months)

. . . . .

Florina had seen the snow countless times before. But tonight, with the moon shining just above the horizon like a ball of silver fire, catching each flake as it drifted gently to the growing mounds on the ground, she seemed to see it for the first time.

_It's like the stars are falling._

The air crackled with the chill, each small puff of misty breath nearly freezing the moment it passed her pale lips. Florina wiped the gathering moisture from her mouth and pulled the oversized fur cloak tighter about her shoulders. It was colder up here near the Temple than down in the festival. Maybe the lack of bonfires and tipsy crowds of revelers had something to do with it, but as her gaze wandered about the Temple, Florina couldn't help feel that the icy columns and frost glazed walls were the real reason the chill kept trying to creep in through her heavy garments. She curled her feet up beneath her and listened to the clanging of bells and strains of festival tunes, so odd and detached as the echoed off the icy walls and rocks.

Another sound joined the distant clamor of festivities, the sound of footsteps on the frozen floor. A lone man carrying a battered metal pot moved slowly towards the altar in the center of the room. Attention focused on his worn burden, he didn't notice Florina tucked off to one side. Upon reaching the altar, the man laid it at the foot of the stone structure and bent his head, muttering words too quiet to carry enough to be heard. Florina cocked her head anyway, straining to get a look around the man. Yes, her own offering was still there, a single wreath of white roses. Florina excitedly waited for the legend to come true. But the man finished his prayer, and nothing happened. He padded back across the Temple and turned down the mountain.

Disappointed, Florina sat back again, wondering how long it would take. The legend said that a long time ago, before the Ilians had turned to a mercenary existence, a kind dragon lived at this shrine. The people of Ilia would come to her when a frost threatened their crops, or when a loved one was sick.

The laughter of a couple who's had too much to drink broke her concentration. The two, leaning heavily on each other for balance, stumbled across the floor. After the woman had placed a thin silver ring on the altar, the man swept her up in a kiss that lasted long enough for Florina to blush for them. When they finally separated to breathe, the couple made their unsteady way to the exit, slipping more than a few times.

The dragon would help the people using her wisdom and powers whenever she could, and in return, the people of Ilia loved her for it. But when the Scouring came, when man and dragons fought terrible, bloody wars, the kind dragon could not choose a side. How could she turn against her brothers and sisters, and how could she harm those humans she had grown to love like family? Instead of making that terrible choice, she bid farewell to Elibe and left for a faraway place.

Another pilgrim stumped across the icy floor to the altar, a stooped crone with an ineffable expression of sadness on her face and a broken lance in her curled hands. She knelt before the altar and offered her tears as well as the lance. Blinking back her own tears, Florina looked away from the intimate moment. Whatever the old woman prayed for, Florina hoped the dragon heard her. Nothing was as terrible as losing kin.

If was said that if you laid an offering at the altar on the day of the Festival of the Ice Dragon and the dragon accepted it, she would grant you a single wish if it was in her power. Florina's offering of white roses wasn't much, but she had spent the entire festival picking them. The woman had left when the candlebringers had appeared to light the Temple, wiping her tears back. The candles brought light, but did little to dispel the chill. If she could just get past the cold, she was sure she could meet the dragon. And it _was_ cold. Her teeth clacked together, hooves on frozen ground. Even the fur cloak wrapped around her small frame couldn't entirely hold in the heat.

The soft beat of flapping wings were the only warning of the approaching pegasus. Kicking up a light dusting of snow, it landed in front of her, tossing its head with all the nobility of Etrurian royalty. Florina gave a start. The way it held its head, the way its unruly mane spilled forward past its ears...

"Huey!" she chattered, delighted. The pegasus flapped its lips and ruffled its wings as if to say, "_Of course._" It walked forward and nosed her ear, drawing a giggle from the shivering girl.

"I missed you, you know." Huey circled around behind her and nosed her other ear. "_Me too._" He settled down behind the girl and folded a magnificent feathered wing over her. Florina smiled and rested her head against his warm flank. It was always good to have a friend.

Now that Huey had warded off the looming specter of the cold, the night passed like a rushing mountain stream. The candles beside the altar flickered into a soft sleep, and even the moon's brilliant glow faded as it sunk behind the horizon. Despite the hour, sleep dared not challenge her vigil, and Florina's gaze continued to flit around the darkened temple, searching for any hint of movement. Her excitement remained undiminished even as the steady flow of pilgrims trickled down and eventually disappeared. She practiced over and over in her mind what she'd ask the dragon for. She didn't want a new pair of boots to replace her thinning ones, nor a new, sharp lance for her first day of training. All she wanted was to ask the dragon for a little good luck, for Fiora. She'd heard Fiora talking with Farina about taking over the 5th Wing, and she wanted to make sure Fiora had a little luck to help her out. Her older sister always worked so hard and worried so much that Florina wasn't going to let any droopy eyes or chattering teeth stop her.

. . . . .

As the morning sky began to brighten with the hint of daybreak, however, a sobering thought struck her. It had never occurred to her, as it did now with the dawn's growing glow, that the legend might be just that: a legend. Of course there was a dragon. And of course that dragon could help her sister. But... _What if she doesn't come?_

Snow continued to fall around her, and with it, a somber melancholy. Staying up all night for this? Shivering and shaking for this? _The dragon isn't coming._ Without warning, a voice intruded on her solitude.

"Florina!" At the sudden sound of Fiora's voice ringing in the still morning air, Huey gave a start and leapt to his feet. He flapped his wings indignantly and took to the sky. With nothing to lean on, Florina tipped over unceremoniously backwards. She dimly felt the ground's wetness seep through her cloak, chilling her back. She remained still anyway, the cold ground and clinging shirt an unimportant detail. _The dragon' isn't coming._ Fiora's face filled her vision. Angry words spilled out, but they registered only as much as her sister's concerned, bloodshot eyes on the tired, disappointed girl. _The dragon isn't coming._ Should she cry? That's what she'd normally do. Somehow though, tears didn't seem right. She was starting training soon. Tears were for little girls, not pegasus knights.

Fighting back the burning in her eyes, she let herself be pulled to her feet and accepted the dry blanket draped around her slim shoulders. Trudging alongside her older sister, she promised herself she wouldn't cry. The two sisters made their careful way across the temple floor, feet gingerly negotiating footing with the jealous ice on the floor. The door gave way to the mountain trail, and they set off down its snow encrusted slope. Florina let out a deep sigh that came dangerously close to a sob.

Suddenly, a sapphire light flashed, the color of sunshine through ice. Hope flared like a candle lit at dusk. She tried to turn and run back, but Fiora's strong arms tugged her back into place. Managing only to turn her head, Florina sneezed and rubbed her eyes as she looked back to the shrine. Dawn's light gently brushed the edges of the altar, and no matter how much she squinted, she couldn't see the white roses.

This time the tears came, but they were the tears of happiness.

. . . . .

And that's the end. Hopefully just the right amount of sappy for you.

So Virginia, was there really an Ice Dragon, or was it just the glare of the sun through the ice that caused Florina's offering to disappear? Well, you'll just have to decide for yourself! Either way, I hope you've got a bit of a warm fuzzy feeling going on right now. I know I do. ^_^

And yes, Florina hardcore fans, her pegasus is a mare and carries another name of Makar. At this point, however, the shy little pegasus knight to be hasn't received any kind of training, nor has she officially chosen the pegasus she's going to ride. Since this isn't fleshed out to my knowledge, I've gone with an arguably logical assumption that this happens pretty early in the training process, but not before it starts. Once she joins the knights, Florina will go the the Spring of Pyrene and recognize this pegasus she's befriended. They will pick each other as kindred spirits, very Eragon style but with less platitudes. What will come as a shock to her will be a senior pegasus knight informing her that her chosen pegasus is, in fact, a mare, and therefore not suited to its current name. Since Florina first called the pegasus Huey, instead of its new plausibly female name of Makar, it explains her mix-ups in the support conversations.

Who knows, maybe I'll write that story someday. For now though, that should satisfy you for the reason why she calls her pegasus "Huey," and why Huey is referred to as a him.

I hope everyone has a Happy Ice Dragon Festival or holiday season, if Ilian celebrations aren't your bag.

Cheers, folks.

~Wii Master


End file.
